And certainly no one could after this one—especially Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who wound up dazed, confused and uncertain for next week's Monday night game at San Francisco following a first-half concussion.

From the time former Bear Danieal Manning knocked the ball loose from Bears tight end Kellen Davis for a lost fumble on the Bears’ first offensive play from scrimmage, the Texans were about making an impression, often on Cutler.

"The way we fought, it was so impressive," Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said. "Offense, defense, special teams, everybody brought their best foot forward.

"It wasn't pretty, it wasn't clean, but we came out with a win and that's all that matters."

A month ago in the national spotlight it was ugly with defenders watching uncovered Packers wide receivers run into the end zone. The Bears, though, could manage only two of 13 conversions on third down. They couldn't run the ball on a Texans defensive front that relied on nose tackle Earl Mitchell in his first start because Shaun Cody was out with a rib injury. Matt Forte was held to 39 yards on 16 carries.

The Texans did it with their backs to the wall much of the night, as the Bears had five drives start at their own 45 or better but still couldn't dent the end zone. And in the process, they out-turnovered the turnover machine that is the Chicago defense. They forced four turnovers to two by the Bears.

"Those guys (the Bears) came out matching turnover for turnover," said Manning, who intercepted a Cutler pass with the Bears in scoring position in the final minute of the first quarter. "They had big plays, and we had our big plays.

"It just came down to the team that was going to continue to hold up."

The Texans did because they managed to supplement their defense with Foster in the running game, as they played like a team used to elements like these rather than a southern dome team. Foster shredded the Bears' defense for 85 rushing yards in the first half and keyed the drive to his own 2-yard diving touchdown catch at the pylon in the second quarter—the only TD of the game.

"We knew he was going to stretch us," Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said. "He was going to cut back and find lanes to run in. It's their system.

"For us, guys didn't cut in the back side. We didn't get the stops on the back side."

The Bears did shut down Foster in the second half, giving themselves a chance to win. But they had to do it with Jason Campbell at quarterback and that, as much as anything, had to do with the Texans’ defense.

Houston coach Gary Kubiak described the game as "two great defenses going at it on the field and ours was absolutely exceptional.”

The game may have changed when Texans linebacker Tim Dobbins delivered a shot to Cutler's head while the Bears’ quarterback tried to throw on the run. After that, Cutler was never the same and lasted just another series before the Bears’ medical staff saw symptoms of a concussion at halftime and prevented him from returning.

So while the Texans can celebrate their confirmation as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, the Bears may have to move forward in a familiar place without Cutler. They don't know if he'll be available next Monday at San Francisco, although coach Lovie Smith essentially said afterward that Cutler seemed to be a little closer to locating his wits by game's end.

"That's why we got Jason," linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "We're better off now than we were last year at this time."

It's difficult to imagine they could be worse than last year when Caleb Hanie stumbled and fell face-first as the replacement following Cutler’s broken thumb in Week 10.

Nevertheless, Campbell is still a backup. His second half numbers—11-of-19 for 94 yards—were fattened by a 45-yard pass to Brandon Marshall that led to a field goal. He couldn't move the ball at crunch time, which is when Cutler has been at his best in building a 135.0 passer rating in fourth quarters.

"You know, it's tough when you are sitting on the sidelines," Campbell said. "It's not like we were playing against the 31st-ranked defense or anything. The Texans are a tremendous football team."

Houston confirmed as much Sunday night, and in the process went a long way toward wiping out the memory of an embarrassing night a month earlier.